Biological Causes of Crime: Amygdala

Question 1

What is the amygdala responsible for?

Answer 1

• Perception of emotions

- Stores memories so we can learn how to respond in the future

Question 2

What part of the brain is the amygdala in?

Answer 2

The limbic system.

Question 3

Due to being part of the ‘primitive brain’, what else is the amygdala responsible for?

Answer 3

Our basic urges:

• appetite
• sleep
• sex
• drive
• fear

Question 4

Where does the amygdala take information from and what does it do with it?

Answer 4

It takes info from the thalamus and interprets it as a threat or not, producing fear, aggression, and fight or flight.

Question 5

What is the relationship between the amygdala and the frontal lobe?

Answer 5

If the prefrontal cortex is healthy, then willpower can resist the amygdala’s urges of fear or aggression.

Question 6

How does the prefrontal cortex aid the amygdala?

Answer 6

• The prefrontal cortex aids the amygdala by deciding how best to respond to a situation which then gets stored as a memory
• Then if the situation were to reoccur, the response would be reproduced without involving logical thought from the prefrontal cortex

Question 7

How might the prefrontal cortex regulating the amygdala explain criminality?

Answer 7

• Damage to the amygdala mat lead to the incorrect perception of stimuli and so the wrong reaction causing the wrong emotional connection to a memory
• If there is damage to the prefrontal cortex then it will not be able to regulate the expression of emotions from the amygdala using logical reasoning
• Therefore the expression of anger due to perceiving situation wrong without regulation from the prefrontal cortex may lead to violent crimes

Question 8

What are the gender difference in the amygdala?

Answer 8

There are no gender differences involved in amygdala functioning and criminality, however, Shirtcliff et al (2009) found that girls are more empathetic and so such differences in emotionality may come from the amygdala.

Question 9

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘evidence’ points.

Answer 9

P - Charles Whitman supports
E - Suffered from a tumor pressed against amygdala and shot 16 people including himself
E - This demonstrates how damage to the amygdala can lead to criminal behaviour
P - Blair (2007) supports
E - Found that psychopaths have a reduced response to threatening stimuli and anticipation of punishment
E - The amygdala is responsible for rational thought and fight or flight so this may cause change in mood and so criminal behaviour

Question 10

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘how’ points.

Answer 10

P - High validity
E - Case studies used brain scanning techniques in controlled environments
E - Highly scientific and objective and limitation of EVs
P - Use of case studies
E - Due to using correlational data behaviour prior to the brain injury is assumed to be different
E - Therefore cannot infer cause and effect between brain injury causing criminality

Question 11

Are there any applications?

Answer 11

P - Yes
E - Can be a way of identifying people likely to offend and there is also evidence that amygdalotomies reduce aggression
E - Therefore treatment can be given to rehabilitate criminals or prevent it

Question 12

Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘criticisms’ points.

Answer 12

P - Deterministic
E - Suggests that there is no free will in criminality due to the response elicited by the amygdala being out of our control
E - Suggesting internal factors determine behaviour which is inconsistent with society’s ideas of responsibility and self-control
P - Social learning theory as an alternative
E - Explains that aggression can be learnt through observing role models also being aggressive and so could link to observing criminal behaviour
E - It shows how there are other explanations and so a more holistic approach is needed to understand criminality further